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56

ACCOUNT OF THE REIN-DEER.

active in giving all the assistance he could, in the parts where it seemed most necessary. But every endeavour to extinguish the flames was in vain: the fire continued to increase. At length, the poor man was told that his own house was in great danger; and that he had not a moment to lose, if he wished to save his furniture. "There is something more precious," said he immediately, "that I must first save. My poor sick neighbour is not able to help himself. He will be lost, if I do not assist him. I am sure he relies upon me." Thus saying, he flew to his neighbour's house and before he paid any attention to his own house, or to his furniture, which was all the wealth he had, he rushed, at the hazard of his life, through the flames, that were already coming very near the sick man's bed, took him in his arms, and carried him to a place of safety. The Economical Society at Copenhagen were much pleased when they heard of his noble conduct; and, to show their approbation of it, sent him a present of a silver cup, filled with Danish crowns. On the cup was engraven, in a few words, an account of his generous behaviour to his poor helpless neighbour.-Such instances of generosity rarely occur; let us hope that they occur rarely, only because they are seldom called for. But whenever they do happen, they should be held up to public admiration, and accompanied with honourable

reward.

ACCOUNT OF THE REIN-DEER.

THE Rein-Deer is a native of the icy regions of the North. To the poor Laplander, this animal alone supplies the place of the horse, the cow, the sheep, and the goat. And as it constitutes his sole riches, a constant care to preserve and secure it, forms the chief employment of his life.-In winter, when the face of the country is covered with snow, the rein-deer are used to draw the sledges in which he travels, and will go about thirty miles without stopping; but although the conveyance is speedy, it is inconvenient, trouble

WISE AND USEFUL SAYINGS,

57

some and dangerous. The Laplanders kill their deer at the age of eight or nine. Then they get the skins which answer for garments to cover them, and for beds to lie on. The flesh affords them a pleasant and wholesome food, and in winter is their chief subsistence. The tongue when dried is accounted a great delicacy and exported to other countries. The sinews serve for thread with which the Laplanders make their shoes, clothes, and other necessaries; and when covered with hair, they serve also for ropes. The rein-deer is wild in America, where it is called the Caribou. It is found in Spitsbergen and Greenland; and also in Asia as far as Kamschatka, where some of the rich natives keep herds of from ten to twenty thousand in number.-The greatest height of the rein-deer is four feet six inches; its body is thick, its legs rather short; its colour is brown above and white beneath, but as the animal advances in age, it becomes grey and even white. Both male and female are furnished with horns, which are long and slender, branching out at the base, at the midlength, and at the end. The hoofs are long and black, as are also the false hoofs, by which the animal in trotting, makes an extraordinary clattering sound. The chief food of the rein-deer is a peculiar lichen, called the rein-deer moss; it abounds in the regions which they inhabit; and in winter they dig it from under the snow with their horns.

WISE AND USEFUL SAYINGS.

THERE is nothing, except simplicity of intention and purity of principle, that can stand the test of near approach and strict examination.

The happiness of every man depends more upon the state of his own mind, than upon any one external circumstance; nay more, than upon all external things put together.

We cannot build too confidently on the merits of Christ, as our only hope; nor can we think too much of "the mind that was in Christ," as our great example.

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COMPASSION EXEMPLIFIED.

Compassionate affections, even when they draw tears from our eyes for human misery, convey satisfaction to those who cherish them.

God has given us four books; the book of Gracethe book of Nature-the book of the World-and the book of Providence. Every occurrence is a leaf in one of these books; and it does not become us to be negiigent in the use of any one of them.

Wisdom prepares for the worst ; but folly leaves the worst for that day when it comes.

In no station, and at no age, let us think ourselves secure from the dangers which spring from our passions. They beset every age and every station; from youth to grey hairs, and from the peasant to the prince.

No man should despair, for God can help him in every difficulty; and no man should presume, for God can blast his fairest prospects in an instant.

༧ སྨཱ ༥,

COMPASSION EXEMPLIFIED.

AROUND the fire, one wintry night,

The farmer's rosy children sat;

The fagot lent its blazing light,

And jokes went round and harmless chat.

When, hark! a gentle hand they hear
Low tapping at the bolted door,
And thus, to gain their willing ear,
A feeble voice was heard implore:

"Cold blows the blast across the moor,
The sleet drives hissing in the wind
Yon toilsome mountain lies before,
A dreary treeless waste behind.\

My eyes are weak and dim with age,
No road, no path, can I descry;
And these poor rags ill stand the rage
Of such a keen, inclement sky.

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CHARACTER OF ALFRED.

So faint I am, these tottering feet
No more my palsied frame can bear;
My freezing heart forgets to beat,

And drifting snows my tomb prepare.

Open your hospitable door,

And shield me from the biting blast;
Cold, cold it blows across the moor,
The weary moor that I have pass'd."

With hasty steps the farmer ran,

And close beside the fire they place
The poor half frozen beggar-man,
With shaking limbs and pale blue face.

The little children flocking came,

And chafed his frozen hands in theirs,
And busily the good old dame

A comfortable mess prepares.

Their kindness cheer'd his drooping soul,
And slowly down his wrinkled cheek
The big round tear was seen to roll,
And told the thanks he could not speak.

The children then began to sigh,

And all their merry chat was o'er;
And yet they felt, they knew not why,
More glad than they had done before.

59

CHARACTER OF ALFRED.

THE merit of this prince, both in private and in public life, may, with advantage, be set in opposition to that of any monarch or citizen, which the annals of any age, or any nation, can present to us. He seems, indeed, to be the complete model of that perfect character, which, under the denomination of a sage or wise man, the philosophers have been fond of delineating, rather as a fiction of their imagination, than in hopes of ever seeing it reduced to practice: so happily were

60

THE CHRISTIAN ENCOURAGED.

all his virtues tempered together; so justly were they blended; and so powerfully did each prevent the other from exceeding its proper bounds. He knew how to conciliate the most enterprising spirit with the coolest moderation; the most obstinate perseverance, with the easiest flexibility; the most severe justice, with the greatest lenity; the greatest rigour in command, with the greatest affability of deportment; the highest capacity and inclination for science, with the most shining talents for action. Nature also, as if desirous that so bright a production of her skill should be set in the fairest light, had bestowed on him all bodily accomplishments; vigour of limbs, dignity of shape and air, and a pleasant, engaging, and open countenance. By living in that barbarous age, he was deprived of historians worthy to transmit his fame to posterity; and we wish to see him delineated in more lively colours, and with more particular strokes, that we might at least perceive some of those small specks and blemishes, from which, as a man, it is impossible he could be entirely exempted.

THE CHRISTIAN ENCOURAGED

CHILDREN of God, who, pacing slow,
Your pilgrim path pursue,

In strength and weakness, joy and woe,
To God's high calling true.

Why move ye thus, with ling'ring tread,
A doubtful, mournful band?

Why faintly hangs the drooping head^
Why fails the feeble hand?

Oh! weak to know a Saviour's power,
To feel a Father's care;

A moment's toil, a passing shower,
Is all the grief ye share.

The Lord of light, though veil'd a while,

He hides his noontide ray,

Shall soon in lovelier beauty smile,

To gild the closing day;

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